The first half of this movie is very good, refreshingly low-key and original, with a believable, slowly-developing romance between Morgan and Dean in Inwood, the far northern tip of Manhattan almost never seen in movies. The relaxed, small-town, almost rural character of the place is a welcome change from the frantic pace, hard-edged greed and shallow posturing that dominate in the more fashionable areas downtown where most movies are made. The city used to have many such low-key neighborhoods that we never see in movies, so it's good to see this one while it still exists.
Unfortunately, the movie sort of disintegrates in its second half. Producers Akers and Berg must have thought a simple love story would be too boring, so they shoehorned a boatload of dramatic tension into the gentle, lovely story and ruined it. There are no gay-beating thugs, which is the stock drama-injector in gay movies, and its absence here is a great relief; but the absurd and highly annoying behavior of the main character is even more infuriating in a different, if much less hackneyed, way.
A consistent delight throughout the movie, though, is Jack Kesy's gentle but powerful performance as Dean. He is unfailingly marvelous... so good that he makes the movie worth watching despite its significant flaws and Leo Minaya's much more heavy-handed and less believable performance as Morgan.
Unfortunately, the movie sort of disintegrates in its second half. Producers Akers and Berg must have thought a simple love story would be too boring, so they shoehorned a boatload of dramatic tension into the gentle, lovely story and ruined it. There are no gay-beating thugs, which is the stock drama-injector in gay movies, and its absence here is a great relief; but the absurd and highly annoying behavior of the main character is even more infuriating in a different, if much less hackneyed, way.
A consistent delight throughout the movie, though, is Jack Kesy's gentle but powerful performance as Dean. He is unfailingly marvelous... so good that he makes the movie worth watching despite its significant flaws and Leo Minaya's much more heavy-handed and less believable performance as Morgan.